Currently Listening To: KILLSWITCH ENGAGE II (2009)

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE - Killswitch Engage (2009)

Just released on June 30th, 2009. I’ve been listening to it nonstop. They are my favorite band. If I could only listen to one band for the rest of my life…it would be them.

So far, this sounds like it’s a great release. It’s stacked from the first track to the last. The problem is that’s not much. There’s only 11 total tracks (15 on the special edition- three of which are live songs). The total run time is just over 38 minutes (special edition - 55 minutes). That’s extremely short for an album. However, even with the lack of songs and length, the album certainly makes up with quality.

Top Tracks: “Reckoning”, “Starting Over”, “Light In A Darkened World”

Definitely check it out.

FREE SPIRIT! A Poem by Michelle Torres

I am freed, I am freed
My spirit is Freed
I soar up in the sky, free of the chains
That weighed me down.
Free of the pain and suffering, That
I could not shed.

I am freed, I am freed
My spirit is freed
I am so above the clouds, free of
Traditions that I wore proud
Free of who, they want me to be, versus
Who I am.

I am freed, I am freed
My spirit is freed
I do not hate, I do not judge, I do not
Feel jealousy.
All of those are ugly and I am now
Clean
To be free
Not to be bound
Or dragged down

Ever again!

I am freed, I am freed
My spirit is freed!

© Michelle Torres 2009

I AM LEGEONED

I’ve been reading the graphic novel adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I AM LEGEND. I love post-apocalyptic stories; or even “the last man on earth” idea. I’m on chapter 6 now. Chapter 5 dealt with Neville fighting to get back in his house after forgetting to set his watch, to watch for sunset. I got excited reading it and the events that lead up to it. Neville running his errands out in town where no one is around.

At the start of Chapter 6, Neville talks about all his work in having to repair his house. It says, “He’d almost enjoyed all the work once it was started. It gave him something to lose himself in, something to pour all the energy of his pulsing fury into. It broke the monotony of his daily tasks;”
This makes me think about why I want ZA (Zombie Apocalypse). I’m sick of living life the way we do; having no real purpose; living only to consume and procreate and continue the never-ending bullshit cycle. I’d rather live like Robert Neville: having a purpose and the will to survive. Doing the things needed to be done in order to survive; striving for a life we all currently take advantage of. Life would be more meaningful and enjoyable.

So—I want ZA to break the monotony of life. Not just day-to-day. But forever. So we can strive to have a better life. A life worth living.

Watch A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

If you want to watch a great movie, you should check it out. It deals with crime, ultra-violence and the corruption of youth. It's a film by Stanley Kubrick, a visionary far ahead of his time.

Personally, I love this film and I forgot how great it is. I recently re-watch it and was amazed by the depth of the story (which was orginally presented in the novel that the film is based off of by Anthony Burgess), cinematography, the multitude of brilliant imagery, and how well the film holds up and the significance of the message even for modern times.

So check it out if you haven't seen it.

Inner Self (or How I Learned to Love The Zom)

The other day I listened to an audio book by Paul McKenna about positivity and inner happiness/contentment. He’s mainly know as a hypnotist and a TV personality in the United Kingdom. And although, he presents some hypnotic exercises in the audio book, I was more interested in what he had to say about society and culture of the western world in reference to being less happy with ourselves and seeking happiness through exterior sources. He says that too often we seek fulfillment in the outside world. This has caused us to become overly competitive, selfish, and rapidly consume the Earth’s resources without care for the ecological consequences.

He suggests that we need to find more contentment within. Be more comfortable with ourselves, and instead of trying to change what we have or don’t have, we should change our attitudes and our perspective.

“Life is only as amazing as the ideas you have about it.”

This quote got me thinking about my outlook on life. The truth is I’ve had a very negative outlook on life which has caused my quality of life to be diminished simply because of the way I perceived it. Lately, I’ve been trying to have a more positive outlook on life. It really works.

However, that doesn’t mean I should curb my thoughts and creativity. Much of my ideas come from my particularly cynical outlook on life, society, and where we as a species are heading. After thinking about it, I have realize this is why I love ZOMBIES! I love stories about zombies, the end of the world and the apocalypse. I believe the world is a great place. But it has been overrun. Not by zombies, but by our insatiable appetites for consumer goods, products, and consumption of resources such as fuel. I feel zombies represent this. Like they say in George Romero’s films, “They’re us. We’re them and they’re us.” It’s that simple. Therefore, we must destroy all the zombies (all of our cravings for goods to satisfy us). Then, we can learn to do without and find contentment within. This will bring about a massive, worldwide change. Then, we as a species can grow and start anew.

Look at it like this: the zombies have taken over. They are consuming and infecting all the living. The survivors must stop them. They must destroy them. Once they do, they can start to rebuild the world in a better image. We can start over. But first we have to hit the reset button. It’s time for change. Before it’s to late. Before this will truly be a…..Dead World.

Movie Review: PUBLIC ENEMIES

PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009)
Directed by: Michael Mann
Written by: Ronan Bennett and Michael Mann & Ann Biderman

I’m not a fan of Michael Mann. Of course I like HEAT. With De Niro and Pacino on the top of their game how could you not. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS is ok. But it has Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the most talented actors ever to be on the big screen. I don’t care for anything else he’s done. So, having said that, I have to say PUBLIC ENEMIES isn’t that bad. I didn’t expect it to be great, despite having two of the best actors around (Depp and Bale).

The story’s not too dynamic. Depp plays John Dillinger, Public Enemy Number 1: the nation’s most wanted man; to be taken, “dead or dead”. Bale plays Melvin Purvis, assigned by J. Edgar Hoover (played by Billy Crudup - recently off his performance as Dr. Manhattan in WATCHMEN) and his Bureau of Investigations to track down and apprehend Dillinger.

A massive manhunt and gun fights a plenty ensue. Hope you like machine guns and Tommy Guns. You get a bunch of them.



Both Depp and Bale’s performances are solid. Now I’m not a huge fan of Depp’s so I can’t attest to how well he did the job because he always plays such strange roles. And he’s not going to stop (look at his picture as the Mad Hatter in next year’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND remake). However, the Dillinger character is interesting, you’ll enjoy what Depp can bring. Bale, on the other hand, plays a more subdued role. Purvis is a judicious, dutiful special agent that wants to bring Dillinger in at all costs. His performance leaves me wanting to know more about the character. There’s not too much depth shown to Purvis. I believe that is the intended effect. We need to believe that his one and only goal is catching Dillinger. And I do. But I want to dig deeper and its just not here. You will find some interesting actors with some small and minor roles. The best being Stephen Dorff’s portrayal of Homer, one of Dillinger’s men. I found him to be the most entertaining character. Plus, his dialogue and accent feels the most realistic of the lot.

Ok. Now to the epic downfall of the film. The cinematography. This film could have been so much better had the cinematography been better. It incorporates the “shaky” cam technique to a sickening level. Its attempt is realism, and to pull you in. It does the exact opposite. It pushes you out immediately, and takes away the suspension of disbelief. It’s noticeable in a bad way. Not good for the DP (Director of Photography). When you have audiences complaining that its too shaky and it’s making them sick--that’s just bad. I love using hand held cameras. But there is no reason to intentionally shake the camera to the point that you can’t tell what you’re looking at. I don’t care how realistic you want to make it appear. That’s just stupid.

Overall, it’s a little long, and if you’re a fan of either Bale or Depp (and you can get over crap-o-vision) you should definitely watch it. Good characters, simple, interesting plot, and dynamic characters should keep you there for the 137 minutes.

Rating = 7.8/10.0

Bad Hollywood

A link to the original article:

http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2009/6/26/darabont-not-giving-up-on-fahrenheit-451yet.html

Basically, Frank Darabont (director of some great Stephen King adapts including THE GREEN MILE, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, and THE MIST, my personal favorite) is trying to make FARENHEIT 451, a classic novel by Ray Bradbury about a dsytopian future. People that have read it (including studio execs and producers) say it's an amazing script and it should be made. However, Darabont can't get anyone to option it. When asked why, they say, "How am I going to get 13-year-olds to show up at the theater." Referring to it being an R-Rated feature, therefore limiting the number of people, limiting the number of ticket sales.

This is Hollywood. This is what we aspiring filmmakers want to be a part of. Someone has a work of art, admittingly so, and cannot get it made because it won't make as much money. This is what it has become. And I AM ASHAMED.